Learn the classic Tigers & Goats game: how the goats trap and the tigers hunt, with the authentic 5×5 board, star diagonals and the outer diamond. Review rules & tips here, then play vs Brahm-Ai.
Tigers & Goats belongs to a family of asymmetric strategy games across South Asia. This guide focuses on the 5×5 Bagh-Chal rules (often called Bagh Bakri in Hindi). One side controls 4 tigers that can jump-capture; the other controls 20 goats that cannot capture but can surround and immobilize tigers.
The board is a 5×5 grid of points. Lines connect adjacent points horizontally and vertically; two main diagonals form a “star”, and the outer square is also connected as a “diamond”. Place the 4 tigers on the four corners. Goats start off-board.
The family of “Tigers vs Goats” games appears across South Asia with local boards and counts—Bagh-Chal / Bagh Bakri (North India & Nepal), and the Tamil game Adu Puli Aattam (3 tigers vs ~15 goats on a line-pattern board). This guide focuses on the 5×5 Bagh-Chal rules used by Brahm-Ai.
Tigers & Goats is a folk strategy tradition in the Himalayan region and the wider Indian subcontinent. Boards/diagrams appear in public places and temple courtyards, showing its communal appeal. The asymmetric hunt-and-surround theme echoes in many regional games, hinting at a shared cultural lineage. Modern interest continues via clubs, wooden sets, mobile apps, and AI opponents like Brahm-Ai.
The design is asymmetric by intent. Tigers are few but powerful; goats are many but rely on coordination.
In this ruleset (as used by Brahm-Ai), jumps are single — one capture per tiger move.
Diagonals apply only along the two main star diagonals and along the outer diamond lines.